Robots
Alpha Hatsuseno
Voiced by: Hekiru Shiina
Our protagonist. A robot that lives alone, managing the very slow business of Cafe Alpha after her owner left the premises. Curious and open hearted, she attracts many people with her kind personality over the years.
- Barbie Doll Anatomy: She is depicted unclothed in her flying dreams and when she deeply interfaces with Sensei's flying machine, although with no details to her body.
- The Bartender: Coffee shop version, but is one all the same. Whenever people come to her shop she listens to their problems and treats them like old friends, no matter who they are and when they come. She's more laid back than the usual Bartender character, though.
- Betty and Veronica: Alpha is the Betty to Maruko's Veronica in regards to Kokone (who is the Archie).
- Can't Hold His Liquor: By her own admission. In ch. 5, one cup of sake seems to loosen her up enough to do a dance that leaves the people at the neighborhood association meeting entranced...and then a second cup causes her to pass out. In ch. 52, a single shot of Kahloa, even mixed with milk, is enough to knock her out so deeply that she has one of her flying dreams...and wakes up laying on the ground outside Uncle's gas station.
- A Dog Named "Dog": She mentions that she started getting called Alpha because she was one of the few Alpha series androids running at the time. After a while, the name stuck.
- I Do Not Drink Wine: For some reason, her body can't process animal protein; as she tells Takahiro, even the milk in a cafe au lait would make her sick. When she finds out that Kokone doesn't have the same issue, she tests herself by drinking a coffee with some milk. She seems to be fine at first, but develops the robot equivalent of a severely upset stomach. The milk/liqueur drink she tries also messes her up, although the alcohol seems to delay the effect.
- It Was a Gift: She got a gun and a camera from Cafe Alpha's previous owner, both treasured items. The former is hardly used and treated like an ornamental item, but the latter becomes one of Alpha's most used keepsakes, especially after Kokone gives her some storage cubes for the photos.
- I Will Wait for You: At the beginning of the story, Alpha was entrusted with the coffee shop until her master returned. A good part of her character arc was about how she waited for him until she came to terms with the fact that he might not be coming back.
- Oblivious to Love: In regards to both Takahiro's and Kokone's obvious feelings for her, although in both cases it is eventually acknowledged.
- Older Than They Look: Inverted; although never explicitly stated, in the beginning of the series she may be quite a bit younger than her adult-looking form suggests. Played straight by the end of the series.
- One Head Taller: Alpha is a head taller than Takahiro in the early chapters, and she likes to show affection by leaning on him from behind with her head on top of his and her arms draped over him. Of course, Takahiro can't help but notice that this pushes her chest into the back of his head, but when he comments on this at one point, she gets embarrassed and noogies him with her elbow.
- Playful Cat Smile: She often has this expression when she's in a particularly good mood.
- Sweet Tooth: Said to love eating sweets when she can get a hand on them, and takes her coffee with a lot of sugar.
Kokone Takatsu
Voiced by: Akiko Nakagawa
A robot that works as a delivery girl at the Musashino Delivery Service. A little uptight, but well meaning and friendly.
- Betty and Veronica: Kokone has feelings for both Alpha (the Betty) and Markuo (the Veronica).
- Luminescent Blush: Does this around Alpha *a lot*.
Maruko Maruko
- Betty and Veronica: Maruko is the Veronica to Alpha's Betty in regards to Kokone (who is the Archie).
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Has shades of this when she and Kokone visit Alpha for the first time together.
- Repetitive Name: Both her first and last names are "Maruko", with the first name spelled out in hiragana. It wasn't always that way though; she changed her surname from her owner's prior to the story.
- Shed the Family Name: Every robot is given the surname of their owner when in their possession. After a while, Maruko decided she didn't want it anymore and legally changed it to Maruko.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Is sweet and supportive of Kokone and dismissive and rude to Alpha.
Alpha Koumi'ishi
The first of the Alpha series of robots, whom the rest of the various lines were modeled after. She currently resides on the Tarpon, monitoring the world below.
- Identical Stranger: All of the robots are this to her as well as each other, since she serves as their basis.
Nai
Voiced by: Ryou Naito
The only known male robot in the series. Works as a pilot with his mother, and is friends with Maruko.
- The One Guy: Most of the time, male robots die out early due to a malfunction. Nai is one of the very rare males to survive as long as he has, and the only one even shown in the manga.
- The Stoic: Unlike his female counterparts, Nai hardly emotes whenever he's on screen, only talking with a serious expression.
- Who's on First?: His name means "nothing" in Japanese, which causes some confusion when Alpha asks for his name.
Humans
Uncle
Voiced by: Shōzō Iizuka (OVA 1), Mikio Terashima (Quiet Country Cafe)
An old man who manages the gas station near Cafe Alpha. Grows crop to make fuel as well as a profit.
- Cool Old Guy: He's quite a mellow guy, giving out advice to the younger generation and giving them a place to stay if they're in trouble.
- Eyes Always Shut: He's always depicted with his eyes seemingly shut to the point of wrinkling his eyelids, even as a young man.
- Like a Son to Me: He looks at Takahiro and Makki like family, even though none of them are directly related to each other, and has some parental concern when Takahiro eventually leaves. He feels the same way about Alpha, telling her she's "practically family" to him.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: He never gets called by given or surname on screen, even with Sensei, who's known him since they were young.
- Perpetual Smiler: His permanent facial expression is a huge grin, although as he ages it seems to shrink somewhat.
Takahiro
Voiced by: Akio Suyama (OVA 1), Toshiyuki Toyonaga (Quiet Country Cafe)
Takahiro is a pre-teen boy who lives near Uncle and Alpha, and spends time hanging around with them whenever he can.
- He Is All Grown Up: He hits this when he's finally finished puberty, with Alpha commenting that he looks more like a man after he becomes taller than her.
- Precocious Crush: Had a crush on Alpha since he was a kid. He keeps it while he grows up, but after Alpha told him she sees him like a little brother he eventually lets the feeling go.
Matsuki/"Makki"
Voiced by: Miki Nagasawa
Takahiro's friend who lives around him. He sees her as a little sister, but she feels otherwise towards him.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Of the Victorious variety, after she and Takahiro grow up.
- Refusal of the Call: After thinking about it, she decides not to take Ayase's offer to teach her how to control the barracudas.
- Unrequited Love: She likes Takahiro very much, but her feelings go unnoticed for the longest time. They are eventually reciprocated after both she and Takahiro leave, but it takes years for them to get together.
Koumi'ishi Sensei
Voiced by: Ikuko Sugita
A local doctor who first meets Alpha after Alpha is hit by lightning. She's an old friend of Uncle.
- I Was Quite a Looker: She was a very beautiful woman in her youth, and mostly retains some of her looks in old age.
"Owner" Hatsuseno
Alpha's owner, and the previous owner of Cafe Alpha. Not much is known about him, but he left Alpha in charge of the shop some time before the beginning of the manga.
- He Who Must Not Be Seen: Not once has there been a hint of his physical appearance in the story. He does feature in a dream sequence where he talks to Alpha over the years, but the chapter is from his point of view, so we don't even see him then either.
Ayase
Other
The Osprey
- The Ageless: Over the course of the manga, she never ages a bit even as decades pass.
- Barbie Doll Anatomy: She normally doesn't wear clothes, but her breasts aren't fully detailed and her groin isn't detailed at all.
- Cute Mute: She never speaks to anybody. According to the omakes, she has a lot to say but she just can't say it.
- Friend to All Children: Comes with the territory of only showing herself to children. She can and will save a kid in danger if the situation calls for it, and sometimes offers to play with them. In the early chapters, she takes quite a shine to Takahiro, even dreaming about the two of them catching and eating fish together. In a twist, she apparently doesn't understand the concept of aging, which means she makes friends and then wonders where they went when they grow up.
- Idiot Hair: Exaggerated; she has a large lock of hair on top of her head that stands up quite high before falling back over. In the OVAs the first we see of her is this, though replace "idiot" with "wild" for her behavior.
- In a Single Bound: One of her inhuman traits is the ability to jump much further and higher than a normal human could.
- Invisible to Adults: Generally when people come of age, they lose the ability to run into her directly. Over the course of the story, this happens to Takahiro, but Maki still keeps it for a while.
- Monstrous Humanoid: Heavily downplayed. She's a seemingly ageless being with tiny fangs who lives by the bays and hunts for fish like an animal, never speaks, never wears clothes, and rarely interacts with humans aside from occasionally showing herself to children she seems to like. However, she could pass for human unless you see her smile.
- Shameless Fanservice Girl: One hundred percent nude, all the time. An extra comic shows she can cover up, but she gets hot easily.
